Accused ringleader in mail theft, check-cashing ring in Houston County heads to prison

A Warner Robins man accused of being the ringleader in a mail theft and check cashing ring was sentenced to more than seven months in prison Tuesday.

Mozell Wright, Jr., 36, of Warner Robins, previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud in federal court April 9.

His sentence also included six months of home confinement upon release from prison as well as three years of supervised release after confinement, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

Co-defendants Bradley Rumph, Jr. 26, and Tara Blanks, 46, both Warner Robins also were sentenced Tuesday to two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to bank fraud, the release said. Charges against the five remaining co-defendants are pending.

Wright and the co-defendants allegedly attempted to deposit or cash nearly $15,796 worth of fraudulent checks at various banks in Houston County from March 30, 2017 to May 17, 2017, according to the release.

Investigators recovered hundreds of pieces of mail that included the identifying information of 23 separate victims, check stock and partially completed personal checks with illegally obtained personal information, the release said.

They also found financial document printing instructions and gauges for printing documents to scale, a computer with electronic versions of phony checks and several hand-written notes with bank account and routing numbers.

“The use of an unsuspecting individual’s personal identifying information to commit crimes is a growing concern in the Middle District,” U.S. Attorney Charlie Peeler of the Middle District of Georgia said in the release. “Our office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to prosecute criminals involved in identity theft.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Warner Robins police.

This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 4:48 PM.